Oil well ignorance (mine)

What makes the oil continue to flow at the spill? I mean it's a
mile deep with tons of pressure on it and the wells I'm used to seeing
all have those little grasshopper pump deals. I thought you had to
pump the oil out or force in something else to force the oil out.
If there is so much pressure in the oil field itself that it overcomes
the pressure of the sea then why don't we have natural oil flows all
over the world like magma coming out under pressure in volcanic areas?


Larry L ( who it seems doesn't have a clue how an oil well works )

Larry L wrote:
What makes the oil continue to flow at the spill? I mean it's a
mile deep with tons of pressure on it and the wells I'm used to seeing
all have those little grasshopper pump deals. I thought you had to
pump the oil out or force in something else to force the oil out.
If there is so much pressure in the oil field itself that it overcomes
the pressure of the sea then why don't we have natural oil flows all
over the world like magma coming out under pressure in volcanic areas?


Larry L ( who it seems doesn't have a clue how an oil well works )

All the oil wells I've seen in the movies "come a gusher" when
a hole is drilled in the right spot. Kinda like lancing a big
boil. And then John Wayne comes along and puts a big valve on
top and closes it. It's only after the gusher phase is over
that they have to start pumping.

So I guess what we need is John Wayne to come along and dive
down to 5,000 feet and put a valve on that gusher.

--
Ken Fortenberry (who knows less about oil wells than you do)

On Apr 29, 12:36*pm, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:
Larry L wrote:
What makes the oil continue to flow at the spill? * * *I mean it's a
mile deep with tons of pressure on it and the wells I'm used to seeing
all have those little grasshopper pump deals. * *I thought you had to
pump the oil out or force in something else to force the oil out.
If there is so much pressure in the oil field itself that it overcomes
the pressure of the sea then why don't we have natural oil flows all
over the world like magma coming out under pressure in volcanic areas?

Larry L ( who it seems doesn't have a clue how an oil well works )

All the oil wells I've seen in the movies "come a gusher" when
a hole is drilled in the right spot. Kinda like lancing a big
boil. And then John Wayne comes along and puts a big valve on
top and closes it. It's only after the gusher phase is over
that they have to start pumping.

So I guess what we need is John Wayne to come along and dive
down to 5,000 feet and put a valve on that gusher.

--
Ken Fortenberry (who knows less about oil wells than you do)

Please. Even a mention of his name brings out the wingers who still
believe he was another war hero like Sylvester Stallone. ;=))
Bad enough children have to see the name and pix of this phony all
over. Think maybe now I just may have to go watch that other
delusional classic "Hellcats of the Navy."

Dave

On Apr 29, 1:47*pm, Larry L wrote:
What makes the oil continue to flow at the spill? * * *I mean it's a
mile deep with tons of pressure on it and the wells I'm used to seeing
all have those little grasshopper pump deals. * *I thought you had to
pump the oil out or force in something else to force the oil out.
If there is so much pressure in the oil field itself that it overcomes
the pressure of the sea then why don't we have natural oil flows all
over the world like magma coming out under pressure in volcanic areas?

Larry L ( who it seems doesn't have a clue how an oil well works )

In simplest terms, the pressure acting on pockets of oil is highly
variable. In some places and at some times it is greater than in
others. Likewise, the thickness, elasticity, friability and various
other characteristics of crustal material surrounding such pockets is
also variable. In some places, at some times, there are natural flows
of "oil" just like there are flows of lava. One might as well ask why
the latter doesn't always flow everywhere all of the time. Then, too,
a "pocket" of petroleum may be an otherwise empty hole (more or less)
or it may be a highly porous material of some sort saturated with
petroleum.....and other substances. In either case, there may be
enormous pressure on the cavity. But the forces applying the pressure
may be very dynamic or entirely static. If dynamic, that is to say
that whatever is creating the pressure is free to move as the
petroleum (or whatever) is pushed out, a rupture is likely to continue
exude oil for some time. If static, unable to continue to apply more
pressure as material is moved out, flow eventually stops.

Think of a piston in a cylinder. If the cylinder is closed at the end
opposite the piston, enormous pressure can be built up as the piston
moves. Put a hole at the end and the pressure is relieved as material
moves through it. Keep moving the piston in, and the pressure keeps
moving material out the other end. Stop the piston's motion and the
flow at the other end eventually stops. If you want the rest of the
stuff in the cylinder you have to pump it out.....or find a way to
make the piston move some more.....not an easy task when we give up
the metaphor in favor of real world dynamics.

Lava flows follow exactly the same rules. They just do so (usually)
on a much grander time scale.

As to forcing something in to force the oil out, that's analogous to
applying pressure to the piston. But as I understand it, that is
usually done indirectly. Water is sometimes pumped into oil fields in
order to raise the level of the oil. This is simply a means of
letting gravity do most of the hard work. Water is denser that
petroleum and will sink to the bottom of whatever vessel contains
both, thus displacing the petroleum upward. Remember that there are
limits to how high fluids can be raised by pumping. At one point or
another the inherent weight of the fluid in a closed column will cause
the fluid at the top to vaporize, essentially creating a vaccuum which
makes it impossible to pull it up any higher. For water, I believe
the limit is something like thirty feet. I don't know what it is for
petroleum, but for the sake of argument, let's suppose it's the same.
In effect this means that the pipe you pump the stuff up with is a
maximum of thirty feet long.....you can't reach any deeper. But the
oil goes down three thousand feet! What do you do? You keep pumping
water in (no maximum depth for pumping the stuff DOWN) and letting it
lift the petroleum to the level of your pipe.

Viola!

giles

On Apr 29, 2:50*pm, DaveS wrote:
On Apr 29, 12:36*pm, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:





Larry L wrote:
What makes the oil continue to flow at the spill? * * *I mean it's a
mile deep with tons of pressure on it and the wells I'm used to seeing
all have those little grasshopper pump deals. * *I thought you had to
pump the oil out or force in something else to force the oil out.
If there is so much pressure in the oil field itself that it overcomes
the pressure of the sea then why don't we have natural oil flows all
over the world like magma coming out under pressure in volcanic areas?

Larry L ( who it seems doesn't have a clue how an oil well works )

All the oil wells I've seen in the movies "come a gusher" when
a hole is drilled in the right spot. Kinda like lancing a big
boil. And then John Wayne comes along and puts a big valve on
top and closes it. It's only after the gusher phase is over
that they have to start pumping.

So I guess what we need is John Wayne to come along and dive
down to 5,000 feet and put a valve on that gusher.

--
Ken Fortenberry (who knows less about oil wells than you do)

Please. Even a mention of his name brings out the wingers who still
believe he was another war hero like Sylvester Stallone. ;=))
Bad enough children have to see the name and pix of this phony all
over. Think maybe now I just may have to go watch that other
delusional classic "Hellcats of the Navy."

Dave

I stayed up MUCH too late watching "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Pale
Rider" back to back a few nights ago. Now there's a REAL hero!

giles
who knows that dyin' ain't much of a livin'.

My all time favorite quote, from any movie--ever!

Op --who is admittedly partial to Clint and his on screen personae--


"Giles" wrote in message
...
On Apr 29, 2:50 pm, DaveS wrote:
On Apr 29, 12:36 pm, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:





Larry L wrote:
What makes the oil continue to flow at the spill? I mean it's a
mile deep with tons of pressure on it and the wells I'm used to seeing
all have those little grasshopper pump deals. I thought you had to
pump the oil out or force in something else to force the oil out.
If there is so much pressure in the oil field itself that it overcomes
the pressure of the sea then why don't we have natural oil flows all
over the world like magma coming out under pressure in volcanic areas?

Larry L ( who it seems doesn't have a clue how an oil well works )

All the oil wells I've seen in the movies "come a gusher" when
a hole is drilled in the right spot. Kinda like lancing a big
boil. And then John Wayne comes along and puts a big valve on
top and closes it. It's only after the gusher phase is over
that they have to start pumping.

So I guess what we need is John Wayne to come along and dive
down to 5,000 feet and put a valve on that gusher.

--
Ken Fortenberry (who knows less about oil wells than you do)

Please. Even a mention of his name brings out the wingers who still
believe he was another war hero like Sylvester Stallone. ;=))
Bad enough children have to see the name and pix of this phony all
over. Think maybe now I just may have to go watch that other
delusional classic "Hellcats of the Navy."

Dave

I stayed up MUCH too late watching "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Pale
Rider" back to back a few nights ago. Now there's a REAL hero!

giles
who knows that dyin' ain't much of a livin'.

On Apr 29, 1:26*pm, Giles wrote:
On Apr 29, 2:50*pm, DaveS wrote:





On Apr 29, 12:36*pm, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:

Larry L wrote:
What makes the oil continue to flow at the spill? * * *I mean it's a
mile deep with tons of pressure on it and the wells I'm used to seeing
all have those little grasshopper pump deals. * *I thought you had to
pump the oil out or force in something else to force the oil out.
If there is so much pressure in the oil field itself that it overcomes
the pressure of the sea then why don't we have natural oil flows all
over the world like magma coming out under pressure in volcanic areas?

Larry L ( who it seems doesn't have a clue how an oil well works )

All the oil wells I've seen in the movies "come a gusher" when
a hole is drilled in the right spot. Kinda like lancing a big
boil. And then John Wayne comes along and puts a big valve on
top and closes it. It's only after the gusher phase is over
that they have to start pumping.

So I guess what we need is John Wayne to come along and dive
down to 5,000 feet and put a valve on that gusher.

--
Ken Fortenberry (who knows less about oil wells than you do)

Please. Even a mention of his name brings out the wingers who still
believe he was another war hero like Sylvester Stallone. ;=))
Bad enough children have to see the name and pix of this phony all
over. Think maybe now I just may have to go watch that other
delusional classic "Hellcats of the Navy."

Dave

I stayed up MUCH too late watching "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Pale
Rider" back to back a few nights ago. *Now there's a REAL hero!

giles
who knows that dyin' ain't much of a livin'.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hell, I can't watch "24" much less . . . . Fact is don't have much of
a stomach for screen/blood compared to most. Even to my female
friends. Visually its too real, and puts me on alert. Usually I leave.
At the other end of the spectrum, chick flicks don't register. Kind of
limits things. But he is a great actor/director from what I have seen.

Colonel Dave of the Jungle

On Apr 29, 4:12*pm, DaveS wrote:
On Apr 29, 1:26*pm, Giles wrote:



On Apr 29, 2:50*pm, DaveS wrote:

On Apr 29, 12:36*pm, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:

Larry L wrote:
What makes the oil continue to flow at the spill? * * *I mean it's a
mile deep with tons of pressure on it and the wells I'm used to seeing
all have those little grasshopper pump deals. * *I thought you had to
pump the oil out or force in something else to force the oil out.
If there is so much pressure in the oil field itself that it overcomes
the pressure of the sea then why don't we have natural oil flows all
over the world like magma coming out under pressure in volcanic areas?

Larry L ( who it seems doesn't have a clue how an oil well works )

All the oil wells I've seen in the movies "come a gusher" when
a hole is drilled in the right spot. Kinda like lancing a big
boil. And then John Wayne comes along and puts a big valve on
top and closes it. It's only after the gusher phase is over
that they have to start pumping.

So I guess what we need is John Wayne to come along and dive
down to 5,000 feet and put a valve on that gusher.

--
Ken Fortenberry (who knows less about oil wells than you do)

Please. Even a mention of his name brings out the wingers who still
believe he was another war hero like Sylvester Stallone. ;=))
Bad enough children have to see the name and pix of this phony all
over. Think maybe now I just may have to go watch that other
delusional classic "Hellcats of the Navy."

Dave

I stayed up MUCH too late watching "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Pale
Rider" back to back a few nights ago. *Now there's a REAL hero!

giles
who knows that dyin' ain't much of a livin'.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hell, I can't watch "24" much less . . . . *Fact is don't have much of
a stomach for screen/blood compared to most. Even to my female
friends. Visually its too real, and puts me on alert. Usually I leave.
At the other end of the spectrum, chick flicks don't register. Kind of
limits things. But he is a great actor/director from what I have seen.

Colonel Dave of the Jungle

IMHO, probably the best living actor/director.
For pure actor, I declare a tie between Morgan Freeman and Robert
Duvall.
For pure director, I declare a tie between Eastwood and Opie.

cheers

oz, who likes good movies

Thanks! But ya know Ron Howard is gonna be ****ed.

Op


"MajorOz" wrote in message
...
On Apr 29, 4:12 pm, DaveS wrote:
On Apr 29, 1:26 pm, Giles wrote:



On Apr 29, 2:50 pm, DaveS wrote:

On Apr 29, 12:36 pm, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:

Larry L wrote:
What makes the oil continue to flow at the spill? I mean it's a
mile deep with tons of pressure on it and the wells I'm used to
seeing
all have those little grasshopper pump deals. I thought you had to
pump the oil out or force in something else to force the oil out.
If there is so much pressure in the oil field itself that it
overcomes
the pressure of the sea then why don't we have natural oil flows
all
over the world like magma coming out under pressure in volcanic
areas?

Larry L ( who it seems doesn't have a clue how an oil well works )

All the oil wells I've seen in the movies "come a gusher" when
a hole is drilled in the right spot. Kinda like lancing a big
boil. And then John Wayne comes along and puts a big valve on
top and closes it. It's only after the gusher phase is over
that they have to start pumping.

So I guess what we need is John Wayne to come along and dive
down to 5,000 feet and put a valve on that gusher.

--
Ken Fortenberry (who knows less about oil wells than you do)

Please. Even a mention of his name brings out the wingers who still
believe he was another war hero like Sylvester Stallone. ;=))
Bad enough children have to see the name and pix of this phony all
over. Think maybe now I just may have to go watch that other
delusional classic "Hellcats of the Navy."

Dave

I stayed up MUCH too late watching "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Pale
Rider" back to back a few nights ago. Now there's a REAL hero!

giles
who knows that dyin' ain't much of a livin'.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hell, I can't watch "24" much less . . . . Fact is don't have much of
a stomach for screen/blood compared to most. Even to my female
friends. Visually its too real, and puts me on alert. Usually I leave.
At the other end of the spectrum, chick flicks don't register. Kind of
limits things. But he is a great actor/director from what I have seen.

Colonel Dave of the Jungle

IMHO, probably the best living actor/director.
For pure actor, I declare a tie between Morgan Freeman and Robert
Duvall.
For pure director, I declare a tie between Eastwood and Opie.

cheers

oz, who likes good movies

On Apr 29, 4:12*pm, DaveS wrote:


Hell, I can't watch "24" much less . . . . *Fact is don't have much of
a stomach for screen/blood compared to most. Even to my female
friends. Visually its too real, and puts me on alert. Usually I leave.
At the other end of the spectrum, chick flicks don't register. Kind of
limits things. But he is a great actor/director from what I have seen.

Colonel Dave of the Jungle

Don't know what "24" is.

I'm not a great fan of screen violence for it's own sake either (nor
the real world variety, for that matter). However, if it's a
necessary and integral part of a good story, I'm o.k. with it. I'm
also not particularly fond of Westerns.....and Eastwood isn't among my
favorite actors.

But "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is still a great movie for a number of
reasons. For one thing, it's self-consciously biblical as a morality
play, progressing from loss through revenge and on to
redemption.....even a sort of forgiveness. It is also fairly
hilarious as self parody, cashing in on just about every western
cliche on the market. It has some great dialogue and quite a few
fabulous characters, well played by very accomplished actors.

"Pale Rider" on the other hand, wasn't as good as I remembered
it......and I remembered it as being not very good.